2023 UC Admit rates based on Capped weighted UC GPA

Colleges & Universities University of California - GENERAL
1

Below are the UC admit rates based on the Capped weighted UC GPA and not major specific for 2023. I have also reposted the 2022 admit rates for comparison.

2023 Admit rates

Campus 4.00+ 3.70-3.99 3.30-3.69 3.00-3.29
Berkeley 17% 3% 1% 1%
Davis 64% 25% 6% 2%
Irvine 42% 13% 1% 0%
Los Angeles 14% 1% 0% 0%
Merced 96% 95% 93% 87%
Riverside 92% 84% 55% 14%
San Diego 39% 9% 1% 0%
Santa Barbara 46% 8% 2% 0%
Santa Cruz 85% 65% 38% 12%

2022 Admit rates based on the Capped weighted UC GPA.

Campus 4.00+ 3.70-3.99 3.30-3.69 3.00-3.29
Berkeley 17% 3% 1% 0%
Davis 58% 20% 5% 2%
Irvine 35% 10% 3% 0%
Los Angeles 13% 2% 1% 0%
Merced 97% 97% 95% 85%
Riverside 95% 83% 42% 17%
San Diego 37% 8% 1% 0%
Santa Barbara 41% 8% 3% 0%
Santa Cruz 69% 45% 16% 4%

Please be cautious in drawing conclusions from this information. The numbers are useful only as a general guide to selectivity and not as a predictor of your chances for admission to a particular campus.**

2 Likes
3

I believe the UCs also publish information on acceptance rate by high school (and GPA within the high school as well).

4

Yes but the UC admission by source school is not updated for 2023 admits yet.

5

Unless I’m mis reading, Davis ahd Irvine went way up on acceptance rates in the first two GPAs (highest). San Diego, Santa Barbara, and Santa Cruz too.

Any thoughts as to why?

6

Looking at the applicant and admit numbers, all campuses had an increase in the number of Freshman admits from the previous year with the exceptions of UCLA/UCB and UC Merced.

The majority of the campuses had increased the number of CA resident admits some significantly such as UC Santa Cruz approximately +11000, UC Davis +2500, UC Irvine +2100 which may account for the increased GPA numbers???

1 Like
7

I see - they aggregate went up 4K. I assume (but don’t know) apps had to be down?

8

Number of total 2023 applications were down from 2022 by about 4200. Some campuses saw a slight increase, some a slight decrease and some remained about the same but yes an increase in overall admits.

https://ucop.edu/institutional-research-academic-planning/_files/factsheets/2023/table-1.1-freshman-applications-by-campus-and-residency.pdf

1 Like
9

Thanks!! Interesting. With more admits will be interesting to see enrollment trends. I always appreciate your data and insights.

2 Likes
10

I’m a 5th generation Californian and it bums me out to see kids with a B average have a choice of only two UCs. The system is broken. With only 10-11th grades, no essays, no tests… the diversity has gotta lack (and I don’t mean race). And the student body becoming very cookie cutter. Ugh.

11

Wdym “no essays”? UC does ask for PIQs

12

I think they were talking about the CSU’s not the UC’s but none the less, there is a college in California for any student that wants to attend from the Community college system, the Cal States, Private Universities and the UC’s. Sure not every student will have access to every University but that is true not only for California but many other states.

13

There are also 23 CSU campuses throughout the state, most of which are happy to accept students with a B average.

2 Likes
14

I believe CAMama24’s student is looking for a direct admit to nursing so only has UCLA and UCI as options.

15

Yes, I know but it’s REALLY hard to convince a kid from LA to go to Fresno/Riverside or a kid from SF to go to Bakersfield/Merced. lol

My D24 has 3.9 capped (and only 1 AP offered each 10th and 11th grade) but she’s Nursing so that’s a whole other monster!

16

With 23 campuses throughout the state, obviously that isn’t actually the proposition. My Bay Area daughter applied to CSU East Bay. SFSU, and SJSU and would have been very happy to attend any of them (her Bay Area boyfriend attends SJSU and loves it - it’s an excellent school with an 85% acceptance rate). There are many options all over the state, so I’m not sure why it would be hard to “convince” a student to attend a campus of their choice, if that student wanted to stay in California.

2 Likes
17

Based on the February 13 Freshman fall admissions summary, I calculated 2023 UC Admit rates based on number of UC Honors courses (this counts yearlong courses taken or planned in 10th-12th grades):

Campus 10 or more 5.0 - 9.9 >5.0 / Unknown
Berkeley 16.83% 9.91% 3.93%
Davis 56.91% 40.01% 25.28%
Irvine 39.24% 22.19% 13.64%
LA 15.87% 4.71% 2.55%
Merced 91.76% 93.93% 81.49%
Riverside 87.98% 78.42% 48.43%
San Diego 37.54% 20.38% 11.11%
Santa Barbara 43.02% 24.40% 10.98%
Santa Cruz 81.08% 68.61% 38.32%

In general, the number of UC Honors courses seems to have more impact on admissions at the more selective UCs, which would make sense. However, UCB is an outlier, with a weaker preference for 10 or more Honors courses compared to not only UCLA, but also UCSD, UCI, and UCSB. This seems consistent with the often-repeated observation that UCLA really likes high stat students, while UCB admission is more holistic.

4 Likes
18

About the number of HC Honors: does it only include courses taken during Sophomore year and Junior year? It is very difficult for OOS to have a high number as our Honors courses are not counted, and many high schools put a limit on how many APs you can take during Sophomore year. Our high school, for example, allows one AP in freshman year, 2 in sophomore year, and then you’re free to take up to 7 APs per year.

19

Thanks for your question! I will edit my post. These numbers refer to the number of yearlong courses taken or planned in 10th-12th grades.

Yes, many high schools limit APs taken. This is true for CA HS, too. Our CA HS limits both APs and Honors, so 10 UC Honors courses is a lot at our school.

20

Thanks for the information!

1 Like